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GameStop ( GME ) rallies, sparks gains in other meme stocks

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Alphabet slips as OpenAI to launch search competitor

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Indexes: S&P 500 off 0.04%, Nasdaq adds 0.27%, Dow off

0.15%

(Updated prices at 02:20 p.m ET/ 1820 GMT)

By Sinéad Carew and Sruthi Shankar

May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes were a mixed bag

on Monday, with the S&P 500 staying shy of its March record high

as investors waited for key inflation readings and earnings

reports due this week while a survey showed consumers concerned

about inflation.

A Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey, released on

Monday, found that Americans see inflation at 3.3% a year from

now from March's 3% while they expect inflation three years from

now at 2.8%. On Friday, a University of Michigan report showed

U.S. consumer sentiment sagged to a six-month low in May as

households worried about the cost of living.

The Nasdaq composite was advancing while the S&P 500

slipped. Both just finished three weeks of gains, boosted by

strong earnings reports, and signs of a cooling labor market

that fueled bets of one or two Federal Reserve rate cuts this

year.

Investors on Monday were cautiously awaiting producer price

index data, consumer inflation data, retail sales data, weekly

jobless claims and earnings reports from big retailers including

Home Depot ( HD ) and Walmart ( WMT ) all due this week.

"Stocks are just kind of stuck in this really tight

trading range until we get some more information on inflation

trends," said Anthony Saglimbene, Ameriprise Chief Market

Strategist.

With the New York Fed report and Friday's report showing

"a marked deterioration in consumer sentiment and rising

expectations around inflation" Saglimbene said this would put

even more weight on the inflation reports.

Core consumer prices are expected to have risen 0.3% on

a month-over-month basis in April and 3.6% on an annual basis

according to economist forecasts in a Reuters poll ahead of

Wednesday's release.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Phillip Jefferson said he

supports keeping interest rates steady until it is clear that

price pressures are moderating.

At 02:20 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell

60.35 points, or 0.15%, to 39,452.34, the S&P 500 lost

1.90 points, or 0.04%, to 5,220.75 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 43.51 points, or 0.27%, to 16,384.38.

Of the 459 S&P 500 companies that reported through Friday,

77.3% beat analysts' profit estimates, according to LSEG data.

The long-term average is 66.7%.

Meanwhile, shares of videogame retailer GameStop ( GME )

jumped 78% after "Roaring Kitty", a former marketer at an

insurance firm credited with sparking the 2021 meme stock rally,

returned to X.com after a three-year hiatus.

Other highly shorted names also rallied with AMC up

60% and Koss Corp ( KOSS ) adding 32%.

Alphabet fell 0.4% as Microsoft-backed OpenAI

looked set to announce its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered

search product. Meta Platform was down 2%.

Apple ( AAPL ) added 2% after a report said it had closed in

on an agreement with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to use the startup's

technology on the iPhone.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.31-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE where there were 280 new highs and 36 new lows. On

the Nasdaq, 2,380 stocks rose and 1,754 fell as advancing issues

outnumbered decliners by a 1.35-to-1 ratio.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru;

Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shinjini Ganguli)